Although the 1845 potato crop failed in Autumn of that year, a large portion of the crop had been harvested – enough to see many people through the winter. But when the crop failed again in 1846, there were increasing calls for London to intervene. The response was to set up so-called ‘outdoor relief’ works, the philosophy being that the starving shouldn’t be given a hand-out but made to work for food.

-By October of 1846, these public works projects grew to employ 250,000 with the number jumping to 720,000 within 6 months. What was outdoor relief? Simply put, one spent the day outside breaking stones, building roads or digging ditches in exchange for the payment of 1 shilling – enough to buy a meal of stirabout (oatmeal porridge) for a family of 3 and nothing more…no second meal, no clothing or fuel. Even so, public works tickets were eagerly sought and riots broke out among those seeking work.

-Unfortunately, payments to workers were often delayed as in the case of Denis McKennedy who died on October 24, 1846 while working on a road in western County Cork. He had not been paid for 14 days and an autopsy revealed no food in his stomach or intestines. The coroner’s inquest returned a verdict that Mr. McKennedy had ‘died of starvation caused by the gross neglect of the Board of Works.’ Mr. McKennedy’s death was not an isolated incident and those employed on the public works were not provided with coffins when they died. As unbelievable as it sounds, London’s policy was to simply leave his body by the side of the road to be eaten by dogs.